


snowfall

by miiniwa



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-24
Updated: 2017-03-24
Packaged: 2018-10-10 00:49:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10425546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miiniwa/pseuds/miiniwa
Summary: "You were...saying my name a lot in your sleep."





	

**Author's Note:**

> there...was supposed to be an actual point in this but i kind of lost track of it in the middle.

_Looks like the snow's really piled up_ , Mao sighs, not at all looking forward to having to sweep it all away from the doorstep later on.

 

He frowns, wondering if he should actually make his best effort to finish student council work as fast as he can after school so that he won't have to shovel snow in the dark.

 

Mao checks the time on his phone, and after kicking some of the snow out from doorstep for now, makes his way out of his front yard.

 

When he walks down the street, whilst shivering and watching the vapor escape his mouth, he sees Ritsu already standing outside his own house, a look of dread on his face, seemingly stuck in place, most likely due to how cold it is.

 

Mao slows his steps, a little smile forming on his lips as he takes a few seconds to secretly watch him, quick to notice the redness coloring Ritsu's nose and cheeks.

 

"Ah, Maa-kun," Ritsu says, spotting him out of his peripheral vision after turning his head, and Mao raises a hand in greeting.

 

"Morning, Ritsu," Mao says, giving him a small smile.

 

"It's _cold_ ," Ritsu announces, a continuous cringe on his face, which Mao can't help but be even more amused by.

 

"Well, that's what snow is," Mao shrugs, and Ritsu stuffs his hands into his pockets as he walks out of the gates of his house and quickly moves over to Mao's side, convinced that it'll be warmer there.

 

The walk to school is somehow shorter than usual, maybe because they had both been wanting to reach the heated interior of the school as soon as possible, and they both take a couple seconds to appreciate it once they go through the doors.

 

"Ahh, you'll get sick if the snow melts in your hair," Mao suddenly says, brows slightly furrowing as he quickly ruffles the snowflakes out of Ritsu's hair, with Ritsu watching as they quietly float to the floor.

 

_As usual_ , Ritsu starts thinking, eyes half-closing as the warmth of Mao's hands seemingly brush along his face.

 

_He thinks about others before himself first_.

 

"Ritsu?" Mao tilts his head to the side, slightly surprised when Ritsu reaches up and starts shaking the snow flakes out from his hair.

 

"It wouldn't be good if Maa-kun got sick either, you know," he tells him, short and simple before he turns to go change into his indoor shoes, leaving Mao to his own thoughts.

 

...

 

...

 

...

 

At nearly four in the afternoon, Mao finds himself in the usual spot after school, at one of the school desks filling out paperwork for the student council, the sound of pencil lead scraping against paper, accompanied by the rhythmic yelling of sports clubs outside basically engraved into his mind.

 

The door slides open, and he glances over, swallowing down a yawn when Keito enters the room.

 

"Almost done," Mao tells him, an obligatory smile on his face.

 

"Huh? Oh, it's fine, I just thought I would come by and check on things," Keito replies, slightly distracted, and Mao raises a brow towards him.

 

"When I'm done, I'll go ahead and drop everything off at the student council room," Mao says, assuming that he probably has a ton of other things to look after.

 

"That would help. And, well, I've been wondering this since I got here, but what's with that thing on your shoulder?" Keito finally manages to ask, eyes looking a bit weary as he points over at Ritsu, who had long since fallen asleep while sitting on Mao's lap, with his face pressed comfortably against Mao's shoulder.

 

"Oh, sorry, he always gets like this after a test or a quiz," Mao replies, and to Keito, it almost looks like an innocent father apologizing on the behalf of his son.

 

"I'm sure you said that a few days ago, except with the words 'before a test or a quiz,'" Keito points out, shifting his glasses up.

 

"That's just the kind of guy he is," Mao says with a small laugh, and Keito sighs.

 

"Well, it's fine as long as he's not getting in the way of your work," he tells him.

 

"Thanks," Mao replies, honest, and Keito nods quietly before taking his leave.

 

Mao turns back towards the paperwork, feeling satisfied when he notices that he only has a couple more sheets to do, and after giving Ritsu's hair one absent-minded ruffle, continues with his job.

 

...

 

...

 

...

 

When Ritsu wakes up, the first few things he notices are the steady snowfall outside, the sports club members finishing up their after school activities in the distance, and the comforting, familiar warmth pressed against him.

 

He leans back a bit, not at all surprised to see Mao directly in front of him, because it's become a habit of his to fall asleep on him after school.

 

However, when his gaze flickers upward towards Mao's face, he realizes that something is unusually off, especially when Mao doesn't tease him with the usual 'good morning.'

 

Ritsu tilts his head to the side, slightly suspicious when it seems as if Mao is somehow trying to avoid him, despite the undeniable fact that Ritsu is currently situated comfortably in his lap.

 

"...Maa-kun? Did something happen?" Ritsu speaks up, curious.

 

"No, it's just, um..." Mao's voice is just over half an octave higher, and Ritsu frowns a bit, because he doesn't like the feeling of being confused.

 

"It's just..." Mao repeats, reluctantly looking at Ritsu before he sighs.

 

"You were...saying my name a lot in your sleep," he admits, averting his gaze, and for a while, it's quiet.

 

After Keito had left, Mao had continued diligently with the paperwork. However, while he had been doing the last one, Ritsu had started to mutter his name, and for the first few seconds, Mao had thought that he had woken up.

 

But that hadn't been the case, and Ritsu had continued to sleepily say his name, in his usual typical tone, as if the boy had been dreaming about them walking back home together or doing some other everyday routine, but Mao had still found the whole thing to be embarrassing.

 

"...Is that so," Ritsu mutters, suddenly feeling unusually embarrassed himself, and when Mao sneaks a glance at him, he sees that Ritsu's face is tinged pink.

 

Mao presses his lips together, because just a few minutes ago, he hadn't quite imagined that they would be stuck in a classroom together like this on a snowier-than-usual day, blushing and stubbornly avoiding eye contact.

 

_Nope, not at all_ , Mao thinks to himself, holding in a sigh.

 

"Well"— Mao speaks up, in weak attempts to dispel the awkward atmosphere, with Ritsu nearly flinching in his spot.

 

"I have to drop this stuff off at the student council room," Mao tells him, pointing over at all the paperwork at the desk, and Ritsu quietly takes that as his cue to move out of Mao's lap.

 

"And then let's go home, okay?" Mao continues, turning around to smile at him, and Ritsu blinks a bit in surprise, because he doesn't think about it too often — probably because he's gotten too used to it — but to him, Mao's smile has always been calming and reassuring, and always at the moments where he needs it most.

 

"Okay," Ritsu replies, as if the two hadn't just been blushing at each other seconds before, and he follows him out of the classroom, somehow feeling more grateful than ever.

 

...

 

...

 

...

 

_It snowed a lot overnight again_ , Mao frowns, staring at the piles of snow at his feet, right outside his house.

 

"...Ritsu?" Mao raises a brow, soundly confused when he sees Ritsu standing right outside the gates of his house, quietly breathing hot air onto his palms.

 

"Ah, Maa-kun's here," Ritsu says, and somehow, Mao swears he sees a fleeting shine in his eyes.

 

"This is new," Mao comments, because it's definitely not everyday that Ritsu would be standing outside his house first.

 

"I didn't have anything else to do," Ritsu replies, as Mao closes the gates to house, again noticing the redness forming along the boy's face, but this time, he's not too sure if the snow is the complete reason for it.

 

"Still not that good with the cold, huh?" Mao decides to ask, as they start their usual walk to school.

 

"It's...not all that bad," Ritsu mutters, glancing off to the side, and Mao raises a brow.

 

A hand brushes gently along his, and before he knows it, their fingers are just barely and loosely intertwined, and with that, Mao understands.

 

Mao sighs loudly, slightly unsure about how to deal with the mix of feelings in his chest, because unlike the snow, he can't just brush it off, but at the same time, he doesn't exactly mind it, since unlike the snow once again, it's undeniably _warm_.

**Author's Note:**

> just wanted to squeeze in one last winter fic before the cold weather officially leaves...the season of hot cocoa and knit sweaters will be missed
> 
> more active at: https://twitter.com/kuuroken


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